Safe



A. R. ST. CLAIR ET AL SAFE LII

Jan. 14, 1969 Filed Deo.

i. mi-.. V me v www Jan. 14, 1969 A, R, ST, 'CLAIR ET AL 3,421,461

SAFE

Filed Dec. 1, 1966 sheet g of 7 WFM Jan. 14, 1969 A, R, 5T, CLAlR ET Al. 3,421,461

SAFE

Sheet L of '7 Filed Dec. l, 1966 Jan. 14, 1969 A. R. sT. CLAIR ET AL 3,421,461

SAFE

Filed DSC. l, 1966 MMR A. R. sT. CLAIR ET AL 3,42L46 Jan. 14, 1969 SAFE Sheet Filed Dec.

. WVENTORS.

Jan. 14, 1969 A, R, ST, CLAN; ET Al. 3,421,461

SAFE

Filedneo. 1, 196e sheet 7 of v t am United States Patent O 18 Claims Int. Cl. EOSg 3/00 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A double walled, double enclosure lire-responsive safe having inner and outer door closures operable, in response to detection of a `condition present during a lire, to close outer doors of the safe and to simultaneously close, lock and seal inner doors so as to prevent smoke, moisture or heat from damaging the contents of the safe. Two different types of actuators are disclosed for closing the doors in response to a fire; a power weight-operated embodiment in which the weights are released to eiiect closing of the doors in response to detection of a fire and a fluid motor operated embodiment in which the motor effects closing of the doors in response to detection of a lire.

This invention relates to a safe and, more particularly, to a safe for protecting information storage tapes or other mediums which are sensitive to abnormal heat or moisture conditions.

It is now a common practice for businesses to store information, such as customer lists, iinancial statements, inventories, accounts receivable, etc. on computerized tapes. Often, these tapes are the most important single asset of a business and, in fact, are about the only asset which, if destroyed, could not be replaced. Unfortunately, most tapes are extremely sensitive to heat and moisture. Tests have proven that many tapes begin to loose information and deteriorate at temperatures as low as 150 F. and at relative humidity conditions above 60%. Therefore, one objective of this invention has been to provide an improved storage facility for tapes and other articles which affords greater protection against exposure to unusual heat and moisture conditions such as those encountered during a tire.

Another primary objective of this invention has been to provide an improved storage facility or safe which affords greater protection against tire damage than any safe hereto fore commercially available.

Insulated or so-called fireproof safes or storage cabinets have long been available for protecting papers and other articles throughout a tire. However, all of these prior iireproof safes have been vulnerable to re damage if the safe was inadvertently left open during a tire. Therefore, another objective of this invention has been to provide a safe which protects the contents of the safe against damage resulting from the safe being left open throughout a lire.

Generally, freproof safes or safes designed to protect the contents against tire damage, are double walled or comprise inner and outer safes having an insulative air gap between the two. The inner safe is generally an airtight enclosure which functions primarily to protect the contents of the safe against heat, moisture or smoke damage While the outer safe serves the primary function of protecting against heat damage as well as forced entry. The outer safe is not generally airtight or moisture resistant and, in fact, usually has a moisture laden material in its walls which, in the event of tire, gives up the moisture to the air gap between the inner and outer safes so as to keep the safe cool. The inner sate should, therefore, be airtight to protect the contents against moisture or water damage if 3,421,461 Patented Jan. 14, 1969 ICC the contents are susceptible to damage resulting from high humidity conditions.

This invention is predicated upon the concept of completely closing and sealing a double walled iireproof safe automatically in the event of a fire. More specifically, this invention is predicated upon the concept of attaching automatic fire responsive closures to the outer doors of a double Walled safe and relying upon the outer doors to engage and effect complete closing and sealing of the inner doors.

Brietly, two diterent modifications ot fire responsive door closures are embodied in the preferred embodiments of the invention described herein. One.` embodiment is motor operated while the other is weight operated. In the case of the weight operated moditication, the weight is held in a raised or inactive position by a solenoid which, when de-energized by a control circuit upon detection of excessive heat, smoke, or water, releases the weight so as to effect closing of the outer doors. The motor operated version relies upon conventional hydraulic door closures attached to the outer doors to eect the closing when the doors are released from the open position by electromagnets. The magnets are energized at all times or whenever the doors are open so that the ldoors are released by the magnets whenever the control circuit is de-energized by detection of heat, smoke or moisture above a preset level.

In both embodiments, the outer doors of the safe engage the inner doors to complete the closing and sealing of the inner doors. The sealing of the inner doors is effected by the engagement ofthe outer doors with a handle attached to each of the inner doors and a connected carn which is moved into engagement with a fixed cam plate attached to the inner safe.

The primary advantage of this invention is that it provides relatively inexpensive protection of a ireproof safe against the possibility of being lleft open throughout a tire.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be more readily apparent from the following description ot' the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a safe incorporating the invention of this application,

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line 2 2 of FIG. 1 showing the safe in the closed and locked condition,

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but with the doors of the safe open,

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but with one of the outer doors shown completely closed and the other partially closed;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged top plan view of a portion of the safe of FIG. 4 including one inner door handle and inner door locking mechanism,

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the `safe of FIG. 1 with the door closure cover removed,

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 but illustrating the closure mechanism after it has been triggered by a re detection control circuit and has initiated closing of the safe doors,

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the safe of FIG. 1 with the door closure cover removed land showing the doors in the open condition,

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of door closure mechanism,

FIG. 10 is a view of a portion of the door closure mechanism of FIG. 9 showing the closure mechanism in the process of closing the `doors of the outer safe,

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view taken along line 11--11 of FIG. 9,

FIG. 12 is a front elevational view of the closure mechanism of FIG. 9 taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 9, and

FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic illustration of a control circuit for actuating both embodiments of the door closure in response to detection of a condition present during a fire.

In FIGURES 1 through 5, there is illustrated a lireproof safe `of the type embodying the inventive concepts of this invention. One modification of door closure for effecting closing of the doors of this safe in response to the detection of a fire is illustrated in FIGURES 6 through 8, and a second modification of door closure mechanism for this same safe is illustrated in FIGURES 9 through 12.

Generally, the safe 10 comprises an outer enclosure 11 and an inner enclosure 12, both of which are equipped with independently operable double doors 13, 14, and 15, 16, respectively.

The invention of this application insures that the doors 13, 14, and 15, 16 of -this safe 10 are never left open throughout a lire. Specifically, the door closures of FIG- URES 6 through 8 and 9 through 12 effect closing of the outer doors 13, 14, and closing and sealing of the inner doors 15, 16 in the event of detection of a rre or -a condition present `during a tire so that the contents of the safe are completely protected against heat, smoke, or moisture damage.

The inner safe or enclosure 12 comprises the usual side walls 17, 18, top wall 19, bottom wall 20, rear wall (not shown), and front wall defined by the double doors 15, 16. A resilient seal 22 on the outer edge of the door jamb land on the outer edge of a mullion or vertical center post 23 is engageable by the inner doors 15, 16 to render the inner enclosure 12 airtight when the doors are closed and locked.

Opening and closing of the inner doors 15, 16 is controlled from a pair of handles 30, 31 mounted upon rotatable shafts 32, 33 respectively. Each handle 30, 31 is non-rotatably attached to one `of the shafts 32, 33 so that pivotal or angular movement of the handles effects a corresponding angular movement of the shaft 32, 33. Each of the shafts 32, 33 is rotatably journalled within journal blocks 34, 35 attached to the front of the door. At both ends, the shaft terminates in an eccentric pin 36, 37 which extends above or below the horizontal plane of the top or bottom of `the door.

A pair of cam plates 38-38 are fixedly attached to the inner safe in the plane of the eccentric pins 36, 37, so as to be engageable by the eccentric pins 36, 37 to secure the inner doors in a closed and locked position. Each of the cam plates 38 is generally U-shaped in configuration and comprises a central transverse web section 39 from which a pair of legs 40, 41 extend forwardly. At the outer end of the legs 40, 41 there is an inwardly extending protrusion 42, the inner edge 43 of which lfunctions as -a cam surface engageable by the eccentric pins 3'6, 37 to secure the inner doors in a closed and sealed position. The cams and pins are shown in this locked position in FIGURE 2.

Movement of the eccentric cam pins 36, 37 is controlled from the door handles 30, 31. Since these handles are identical, only one, 30, will be described in detail although it should be appreciated that an identical handle 31 is attached to the shaft 33.

The handle 30 has a pair of enlarged end sec-tions 44, 45 interconnected by a planar section 46. A vertical aperture extends through the end section 44 and accommodates the shaft 32. The handle 30 is clamped to the shaft 32 by a screw 47 which extends through a slotted portion of the end section 44. When tightened, the screw 47 causes the two separated portions of the end section 44 to be pulled together with the result that the diameter of the vertical aperture, surrounding the shaft 32, is contracted and the handle is clamped on the shaft 32.

A vertical aperture also extends through the other enlarged section 45 of the handle. This aperture supports a pin 50 upon which a roller 51 is rotatably mounted with- 4 in a horizontal slot or recess in `the enlarged section 45 of the handle.

The handle 30 is movable between `a door open position in which it is angulated relative to the door as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, and a door closed or locked position in which it extends parallel to the door as shown in FIGURE 2. When in the open or angulated position, `the handle is held in place or restrained against closing movement by a spring 53. This spring 53 is mounted within a pair of hollow telescoping tubular rods, 54, 55, one of which is attached to the door handle by a pivot pin 56 and the other of which is pivotally attached at 57 to a mounting bracket 58 secured to the front of the door 15.

To limit movement of the handle in the opening direction, or in the direction in which the swinging end of the `handle is moved away from the door, a set screw 60 is threaded into a threaded aperture in the section 44 at the pivoted end of the door. This screw 60 engages the door to act as a stop upon opening of the handle. The spring 53 then holds the set screw 60 in engagement with the door after the handle is released or when the handle is used to push the door 15 closed.

When the inner doors 15, 16 are locked, the handles 30, 31 reside in the position illustrated in FIGURE 2 in which they are located in a transverse plane parallel to the front of the door. In this position of the handles 30, 31, the cam pins 36 and 37 of the shafts 32, 33 are located behind t-he camming protrusions 42 of the cam plates 3S- 38. To open the door, the swinging or free end of the handle is grasped and pulled away from the door so that `the shaft 32 is rotated in a direction to move the eccentric pins 36, 37 out from beneath the protrusions 42. Upon continued pulling of the handle away from the door, the door is caused to open about its hinge 62. When the handle is released, the inner doors are pulled closed by a pair of conventional door closing springs 63, 64. The handle though remains in the angulated or door open position even after the inner doors are fully closed by the springs until they are pushed to a door locked position manually or by engagement with the outer doors.

If the outer doors 13 and 14 of the safe 11 should be closed while the inner doors are closed but unlocked, the inside of the outer doors will abut against the rollers 51 of the handles and move the handle to a locked position against the bias of the springs 53. The springs 53 are sufficiently strong or exert sufficient force to overcome any frictional resistance to closing of the inner doors so that the handles remain angulated (in the position of FIGURE 5) until the inner doors abut against the seals 22 around the periphery of the door jamb. Thereafter, continued closing movement of the outer doors causes the door handles 30, 31 to move from the angulated position (illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5) to the parallel or locked position (FIGURE 2) against the bias of the springs 53. As the Ihandles are pivoted from the unlocked or angulated position to the locked position, the eccentric pins 36, 37 engage the inside 43 of the protrusion 42 of the cam plate and cam the inner doors to the fully closed and locked position of the doors in which the seal 22 is compressed suiciently to make an airtight seal between the door and the door jamb. When this airtight seal is effected, the inner closure 12 is completely airtight at normal atmospheric pressures.

The outer enclosure 11 comprises side walls 70, 71 rear wall 72, bottom wall 73, and a top wall 74. The pair of opposed double doors 13, 14 are pivotally supported on the front of the safe by hinges 75, 76, respectively. As is conventional in lireproof safes, the walls 70 through 74 contain conventional moisture absorbing materials operative to give up the moisture to the gap or space 77 between the safes 11 and 12 in the event that the safe is eX- posed to the heat of a fire.

The outer doors 13 and 14 have deadbolts 80, 81 which extend vertically along the pivoted edge of the door and are receivable within recesses 82, 83 in the door jamb to secure the doors against unauthorized opening by removal of the hinges.

At the swinging edges of the doors 13, 14, each is provided with a protrusion 85 adapted to be received within a corresponding shaped recess 86 of the other door. These intertting edges prevent objects from being inserted through the clearance gap between the two doors.

Each door includes conventional boltwork (not shown) movable through movement of the door handles 90, 91 between a position in which attached door bolts 87 eX- tend beyond the edge of the doors into recesses of the door jamb and a withdrawn position within the doors. A combination lock having a dial 92 mounted on the exterior of the door is operative to prevent movement of the door bolts except when the door is unlocked after proper manipulation of the dial. The door boltwork has not been illustrated in detail since it forms no part of this invention and is conventional in safes of this type. Preferably, it is operable to automatically move to the locked position whenever the outer doors are fully closed. This type of boltwork, is triggered to move the door bolts from a retracted position within the door to a locked position beyond the edge of the door whenever a movable pin on the swinging edge side of the door engages the door jamb and releases the spring loaded boltwork. This occurs only when the doors are almost completely closed.

Generally, the outer doors 13 and 14 are opened and closed manually by grasping the handles 90, 91, pivoting them to the door unlocking position, and pulling the doors open. To close and lock the outer safe, the doors are simply pushed shut and the handles rotated to the latched position to throw the boltwork. The combination lock dial may then be rotated to extend the locks bolt to a blocking position relative to the door boltwork.

To effect automatic closing of the outer doors and locking of the inner doors in a sealed condition in the event of detection of excessive heat, smoke or moisture, a door closure mechanism 99 is mounted atop the safe 10 beneath a housing 100. Referring first to the embodiment of FIGURES 6 through 8, there is illustrated the power 'weight operated mechanism 99 which is electrically triggered upon detectionlof heat, smoke or moisture above a preset level to effect closing of the outer doors and simultaneous camming of the inner doors to a locked and sealed position.

Generally, this power weight operated closure mechanism 99 comprises a pair of power weights 101, 102, operatively attached to the outer doors 13 and 14, respectively, so that when released, the weights fall and close the doors. A solenoid actuated latch, indicated generally by the numeral 103, holds the weights in a raised or cocked position. When dce-energized, the latch 103 releases the weights so that they may fall `and effect clos- 'ing of the doors. The latch 103 is controlled by an electrical detection circuit (FIGURE 13) operative to devenergize the solenoid 104 of the latch whenever the circuit is opened by power failure or by detection of excessive heat, smoke orwater.

Both of the power weights 101, 102 are attached to the doors 13 and 14, respectively, by identical linkage systems. Therefore, only the connection of one of the weights 101 to the door 13 will be described in detail. It should be appreciated, however, that an identical linkage interconnects the otherfpower weight 102 to the other door 14.

As may be seen most clearly in FIGURES 6 and 8, the weight 101 has vertical slots 110 in'its side edges which Areceive legs 112, of generally Zshaped guide brackets 114 xedly attached to the rear 72 of the safe. The weight 101 is suspended from one end 117 of a chain 116, the opposite end 118 of which is attached to a block 119 secured to the top 74 of the safe. Between the ends 117,

118, the chain 116 passes over a stationary idler sprocket 120 and -a movable sprocket 121. The idler sprocket 120 6 is supported for rotation upon an idler shaft 122, the opposite ends of which are rotatable within journal blocks 123, 124 xedly mounted upon a support plate 125 attached to the top 74 of the safe. A shaft 127 supports the movable sprocket 121 within a yoke 128. The yoke 128 is attached to the outer or free end 129 of ya piston rod, the other end of which is connected to a piston 130 slidable within a dashpot cylinder 131. The cylinder 131 is fxedly mounted upon the support platel 125. A torsion spring 132 is connected to the piston 130 from which it extends forwardly into a casing 133 xedly mounted atop the plate 125. This spring 132 biases the piston toward the front of the cylinder 131 while still permitting it to be movable rearwardly. The rate at which the piston moves rearwardly is controlled by a small aperture 135 in the cylinder. The aperture 135 acts as a bleed hole through which air entrapped between the piston 130 and the closed end 137 of the cylinder must pass in order for the piston to move rearwardly. This piston and cylinder thus function `as a dashpot to govern the rate at which the outer door is closed by the fire responsive closure mechanism.

A bell crank shaped latch plate 140 is pivotally mounted atop the mounting plate 125 in a position to engage a dog 141 attached to the yoke 128. One end of the latch plate 140` has a hook or ledge 143 engageable with the rear of the generally wedge shaped dog 141 so as to restrain the yoke 128 against rearward movement and thus hold the attached weight in a raised or cocked position. A tension spring 145 connected between the other end 146 of the latch plate 140 and a stationary post 147 biases the plate about a pivot post 142 to a position in which the hook 143 engages the dog 141. To prevent the yoke and dog 141 from moving laterally and being inadvertently disengaged from the hook, a back-up plate 148 is mounted on the opposite side of the yoke from the dog.

The connection between the outer door 13 and the power weight 10'1 consists of a second and smaller weight 150, a cable 151, and a pulley 152 mounted atop and keyed to a door shaft 153. At its lower end, the door shaft 153 is keyed to the hinge plate 76 which is in turn welded to the front of the `door 14. Thus, rotational movement of the door eifects rotational movement of the pulley and vice versa.

The pulley 152 serves also as a drum and therefore supports several wraps of the cable 151, the end of which is secured to the hub of the pulley. From the pulley 152, the cable 151 extends rearwardly over an idler pulley 155 and downwardly through a vertical aperture 156 in the power weight 101 to the small weight 150.

In normal usage the small weight is moved upwardly each time the outer door 13 is opened and is lowered each time the door is closed. When the outer door 13 is fully open, the small weight 150 is engaged with the bottom of the power weight 1011 is illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 8. When the door 13 is closed, the small weight 150 moves `downwardly away from the power weight 101 to the position shown in phantom in FIG- URE 8.

If the latch hook 143 is disengaged from the latch dog 141, the power weight 101 will be Vpermitted to move downwardly at a rate determined by the dashpot. If the outer door 13 is open at this time, the small weight 150 will be in engagement with the power weight 101 and will be moved downwardly with the power weight 101. This results in cable 151 being stripped from the pulley 152 and the pulley being rotated in the clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 6. Rotation of the pulley, in turn, effects rotation of the shaft 153, .the attached hinge plate 76, and the outer door 13.

The door closure mechanism 157, which controls opening and closing of the other outer door 14 is generally similar to that heretofore described for effecting closing of the other outer door 13. Therefore, those portions of the closures which are identical have been given identical numerical designations followed by the suffix a.

This latter closure mechanism 157 differs from the other closure 99 in the manner in which the tension spring 160 is attached to the latch plate 140. Rather than biasing the latch into engagement with the protrusion 141g of the yoke, the tension spring 160 biases the hook shaped end portion 143a of the latch plate 140e away from the yoke. The solenoid 104 holds the latch plate 140e in engagement with the dog 141a against the bias of the spring 160. Thus, when the solenoid is de-energized, the spring 160 is operative to disengage the hook shaped end 1'43a of the latch plate from the protrusion 141:1 so as to permit the power weight 102 to drop and effect the closing of the outer door 14.

As may be seen most clearly in FIGURES 2` and 4, one outer door 14 must always close prior to the other outer door 13 in order for the swinging vertical edges of the doors to `be properly seated. If the wrong outer door 13 should close first, the two doors could never completely close. To insure that the right one of the two doors always closes first when the closing is effected automatically by the door closures, the latches 140, 140a are interconnected so that the latch 140a always releases first. The interconnection is such that the door 14 is partially closed before the latch 140 is disengaged. To this end, a pivoted stop bar 165 extends into the path of the dog 141a on the yoke 128:1. After the yoke 128a has moved a predetermined distance, the dog 141a engages the stop bar 165 and causes it to pivot about a vertical pivot pin 166` which is fixeldly mounted in a supporting bracket 167. Pivoting of the stop bar effects disengagement of the latch 140 through a cable 168 which interconnects the stop bar 165 with the latch plate 140. Thus, a time delay is built into the closures so that movement of the door 13 is never initiated by its closure until after the other outer door 14 has partially closed.

The control circuit which controls energization and de-energization of the solenoid 104 is illustrated in FIGURE 13. It comprises a pair of leads 180, 181 to rwthich power is supplied from the secondary winding i182 of a transformer 183. A wall socket plug 185 connects the primary winding 184 of this transformer to a 11C-volt source.

The solenoid 104 is connected in series with a contact 186 of a relay 187 between the leads 180, |181. Contact 186 is normally closed so that the solenoid 104 is energized whenever the relay is de-energized.

Relay 187 is connected in series with a normally open contact 188C of a thermostat 188, a normally open contact 189C of a smoke sensor 189, and a normally open contact 190C of a moisture sensor 190. The normally open contacts 188C, 189C, Iand 190C of the thermostat 188, the smoke sensor 189, and the moisture sensor 190, respectively, are in turn all connected in parallel. Therefore, closing of the contacts of any of these units 188, 189 or 190 results in energization of the relay 187. Energization of the relay 187 in turn opens the contact 186 so that the solenoid 104 is de-energized and the latch 103 released by tension spring 160 from a position 'which it holds the power weight 102 in a raised or cocked position.

The thermostat y188 is a conventional heat sensitive unit commercially available from any of numerous sources. Similarly, the smoke sensor is a commercially available unit which may be purchased from any of numerous sources. 'Ilhe moisture sensor may also be purchased commercially although we prefer a very simple sensor (not shown) which consists of `an artificial cellulose sponge which has been soaked in an aqueous saline solution and allowed to dry. This sponge, after having been so treated, is mounted in a small metal tray. Spaced electrical leads are plugged into the sponge which is normally non-con ductive. However, a very minimal amount of water will result in the treated sponge becoming highly conductive.

'Phe moisture :detector is preferably mounted atop the safe while the thermostat may be mounted anywhere in the room containing the safe, but preferably near the safe. The smoke sensor may also .be mounted anywhere in the room containing the safe but preferably is mounted in an air duct of a heating system near the safe.

In operation, the power weights 101 and 102 are normally retained in a raised or cocked position. In this position, these weights have no effect upon either opening or closing of the safe doors 13, 14 so long as the control circuit remains connected to a power source. If the circuit should `be actuated by either (a) detection of moisture on the moisture detection unit 190, or (b) by detection of smoke in the smoke sensor 189, or (c) by detection of excessive heat at the thermostat 188, or (d) by loss of power to the system, the control circuit to the solenoid 104 will `be opened and the solenoid de-energized. Deenergization of the solenoid causes the latch plate 140e of latch mechanism 103 to be pulled out of engagement with the latch dog 141e on the yoke 128a, so that the power weight 102 falls. If the outer doors of the safe are open at this time, the small weights 150, 15011 will be in engagement with the bottom of the power weights 101, 102 and falling movement of the power weight 102 will effect downward movement of the smaller weight 150e. As the weight 150:1 is moved downwardly, it causes the cable 151a to `be stripped from the pulley 152a so that the pulley is rotated in a direction to effect closing of the outer door 14. The rate at which the power weight falls and the rate at which the outer door `14 closes is controlled iby the size of the aperture in the end of the dashpot cylinder 131a. Of course, if the outer doors are closed when the control circuit to the solenoid is opened, the power weights will fall without any effect upon the outer doors.

After the outer door 14 has partially closed, the dog 141a engages the bar 165, causing the bau to be moved rearwardly pulling with it the cable 168. Movement of the cable 168 effects a pivotal movement of the latch plate to disengage the hook 143 from the dog 141. This results in the power weight 101 being released and initiation of the closing of the other outer door 13, but only after the outer door 14 has closed sufficiently to insure that it lwill ybe completely closed before the outer door 13 arrives in an interfering position.

In the normal usage of the safe, the outer doors are usually left standing 4open while the inner doors normally are closed by the springs 63, 64. However, the inner doors are unlocked and are unsealed at this time because the handles 30, 31 remain in an angulated or open condition until they are closed either manually or by engagement with the outer doors.

As the outer doors 13, 14 close, wear plates 93 on the inside of the outer doors engage the rollers 51 of the handles 30, 31 pivoting them about the shafts 32, 33 to the locked position in which the inner doors are in sealed engagement with the door jamb of the inner safe. This is effected by the outer doors 13, 14 camming the handles 30, 3.1 closed against the bias of the springs 52. As the handles are moved or pivoted into the locked position, they effect rotational movement of the vertical shafts 32, 33, causing the attached eccentric pins 36, 37 to be moved behind the protrusions 42 of the cam plates 38-38. Interengagement of the pins 36, 37 and cam plates 38-38 effects compression of the seal 22 between the inner doors and the door jamb of the inner safe so that an airtight seal is effected between the doors 15, 16 and the interior of the inner safe 12. The inner safe is thus rendered airtight so that the contents of the safe are protected against smoke or moisture damage.

When the outer doors of the safe are completely closed, a conventional boltwork interlock (not shown) engages the door jamb of the outer safe, causing the door bolts 87 to be extended and the outer doors to be locked. In this preferred embodiment, the inner doors 15, 16 have been illustrated as being biased t0 a closed position by the inner door closure springs 63, 64. However, it should be appreciated that the inners doors could normally be left open if so desired by removing the springs. In this event, the outer doors would be relied upon to push the inner doors closed or the inner and outer doors could be interconnected by a simple mechanical linkage system so that automatic closing of the `outer doors would also effect `both closing and locking of the inner doors.

Referring now to FIGURES 9 through 12, there is illustrated another embodiment of the closure mechanism for closing the safe doors upon detection of a condition present during a re. This modilication differs from that illustrated in FIGURES 6 through 8 in that it is motor operated rather than being actuated by power weights. The safe to which it is applied, however, is identical to that illustrated in FIGURES l through 5.

This second modication of a closure mechanism utilizes conventional, commercially available, hydraulic closures 200, 201 as the motors to close the outer doors. The doors are normally held open by electromagnets 202, 203 which are de-energized only upon detection of some condition present during a fire. When such a condition is detected, the control circuit `of FIGURE 13 is operative to de-energize the two series connected magnets 202, 203 which are substituted for the solenoid 104 of this FIG- URE 13. When these magnets are tie-energized, the hydraulic closures 200, 201 effect closing of the outer doors 13, 14 and consequently, locking and sealing of the inner doors, as is explained more fully hereinafter.

In this modification, manual closing of the outer doors 13, 14 of the safe need only be initiated or started by overcoming the holding power of the magnets 202, 203, after which the closing movement will be completed by the hydraulic closures or motors 200, 201.

The mechanism for closing each of the outer doors 13,

14 of this second preferred embodiment is identical and therefore, only that mechanism used to close the outer door 13 will be described in detail. It should be appreciated, however, that an identical mechanism, identitled by identical numerals with a suffix a, is utilized to close the other door 14 upon detection 0f a fire or a condition present during a fire.

The mechanism for closing the outer door 13 in this second embodiment is completely housed within the enclosure 100 located atop the safe. This mechanism is interconnected to the outer doors by a sprocket 204 drivingly keyed to the door shaft 153 which is in turn keyed to the hinge plate 76 attached to the safe door. The sprocket 204 drives or is driven from a larger sprocket 205 by a chain 206. Sprocket 205 is drivingly keyed to a vertical stub shaft 207 which is rotatably supported within a journal block 208 attached to the top of the safe. The shaft 207 also supports a false door 209 which is drivingly keyed to the shaft. Thus opening and closing of the outer door 13 is reflected as opening and closing of the false door 209 by the chain and sprocket drive. A drive ratio of approximately 2 to l is maintained so that 180 of opening movement of the door 13 results in 90 of opening movement of the false door 209.

Preferably, a slack take-up mechanism 212 including a movably mounted sprocket 213 is operatively associated with the chain 216 so that slack in the chain may be taken up by simply repositioning the sprocket.

The motor for closing the door comprises a conventional hydraulic door closure motor 200, the hydraulic cylinder 215 of which is mounted upon the false door 209. The piston of this motor 200 is connected by a pair of pivotally interconnected links 216 and 217 to a pivot block 218 fixedly attached to a mounting bracket 219. The bracket 219 is in turn iixedly attached to the top of the safe. Any one of numerous commercially available door closures could be utilized in this environment. One such closure which has been found to be particularly well suited to this application is manufactured by The Sargent 10 Company, New Haven, Conn., and is designated as their Powerglide Model No. EN-75L-O.

As in the case of the modification described in FIG- URES 6 through 8, some provisions must be made to insure closing of one outer door 14, prior to the closing of the other outer door 13 so as to avoid interference between the two. To this end, a conventional double door stop 225 is mounted upon the mounting bracket 219. This stop 225 consists of a pivotally mounted hub section 226 rotatably journalled in the mounting plate 219. An arm 227 extends radially from the hub 226 into a position to be engaged by the false door 209 and a similar shorter arm 228 extends radially from the hub 226 in a position to be engaged by the false door 209er. The arm 227 is much longer than the arm 228 so that the false door 209 is engaged and restrained by a roller 229, attached to the outer end of the arm 227, prior to engagement of the other false door 209a with a roller 230 attached to the outer end of the arm 227.

As may be seen most clearly in FIGURE 11, the shorter arm 228 is angulated slightly downwardly relative to the longer arm 227 which is located in a generally horizontal plane.

When the outer doors 13 and 14 of this safe are open and the false doors 209, 209a are similarly in an open position (as shown in phantom in FIGURE 9) both of the radial arms 227 and 228 drop downwardly from the position of FIGURE l1 to a position in which an adjustable stop 235 attached to the `hub 226 engages a stop bar 236 of the mounting plate 219. In this position of the hub, the horizontal center line of the roller 229 is located slightly beneath the top of the false door 209 and the bottom of the other roller 230 (attached to the shorter arm 228) is located slightly beneath the horizontal plane of the top of the false door 209a. At this time, the horizontal center line of the roller 230 is located above the plane of the top of the false door so that closing of the false door 209a will result in camming of the roller and attached arm 228 upwardly. In these positions of the rollers, the false door 209 will be blocked by the roller 229 until the other false door 209:1 engages the roller 230 and cams it upwardly to the position illustrated in FIGURE l1. Therefore, the false door 209 is always precluded from closing past a predetermined partially closed position until the other false door 209111 is very nearly completely closed.

Since the outer doors 13 and 14 are operatively connected to the false doors 209, 209a by the chain and sprocket drives, the eifect of this blocking mechanism is to insure proper sequential closing of the outer doors 13, 14.

The false doors 209, 209a are held in an open position against the bias of the hydraulic closure motors 200, 201 by the electromagnets 202, 203. These magnets are normally energized and are engageable by a pair of ferrous metal plates 233, 23351, attached to the false doors 209, 209a, respectively whenever the outer doors and the interconnected false doors are fully open. Each plate 233, 233a is pivotally attached to a supporting bracket 234 which is in turn secured to one of the closure motor cylinders 215, 215a. The pivotal connection functions to permit proper interfacial engagement between the plates and the magnets.

The circuit used to control energization and automatic de-energization of the magnets 202, 203 in the event of detection of a condition present during a tire is illusrated in FIGURE 13. However, in this modification, energization of the relay 187 opens a circuit to the series connected magnets 202, 203 rather than to the solenoid 104.

In the event that the control circuit to the magnets of FIGURE 13 is opened upon detection of excessive heat, smoke, or moisture, and the outer doors 13, 14 are fully open, the magnets 202 and 203 are de-energized so that the false doors are released for closing by the hydraulic door closure motors 200, 20111. Closing of the false doors also results in closing of the outer doors 13, 14 because of the interconnection formed by their chain and sprocket drives. As the outer doors close, they cam the inner doors 15, 16 to a fully closed and locked position in which the inner doors 15, 16 are sealed relative to the inner safe 12 door jamb.

While only two preferred embodiments of this invention have been illustrated and described herein, those skilled in the arts to which this invention pertains will readily appreciate numerous changes and modications which may be made without departing from the spirit of this invention. Therefore, we do not intend to be limited except by the scope of the appended claims.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. A safe for preventing heat, re or smoke damage to the contents thereof when said safe is exposed to a tire, said safe comprising an inner enclosure and an outer enclosure, said inner enclosure having top, bottom, front, rear, and side walls spaced from corresponding walls of said outer enclosure so that an insulative gap is defined between said enclosures,

an inner door in one wall of said inner enclosure,

a seal between said inner door and said one wall for preventing the passage of air between said door and said one wall when said door is closed and for completely sealing said inner enclosure against the entrance of air at atmospheric pressure when said inner door is fully closed,

an outer door in one wall of said outer enclosure,

a lock for securing said outer door in a closed position,

a door enclosure mechanism operatively attached to said outer door, and

means responsive to detection of a condition present during a tire for actuating said door closure mechanism to move said outer door to a closed position with respect to said outer enclosure and to simultaneously move said inner door to a closed position and to lock said inner door in a condition in which it is sealed with respect to said inner enclosure against the passage of air from outside said inner enclosure to inside said inner enclosure.

2. A safe for preventing heat, fire or smoke damage to the contents thereof when said safe is exposed to a lire, said safe comprising an inner enclosure and an outer enclosure, said inner enclosure having top, bottom, front, rear, and side walls spaced from corresponding walls of said outer enclosure so that an insulative gap is dened between said enclosures, said inner enclosure having a door jamb in the front wall thereof,

an inner door dening at least a portion of said front wall of said inner enclosure, a seal between said door and door jamb for preventing the passage of air between said door and door jamb when said door is closed, said inner enclosure being sealed against the entrance of air at atmospheric pressure when said door is fully closed,

an outer door defining at least a portion of the front wall of said outer enclosure,

locking mechanism for securing said door in a closed position, and

means responsive to detection of a condition present during a re for moving said outer door to a closed position with respect to said outer enclosure and for simultaneously moving said inner door to a closed lposition and to lock said inner door in a condition in which it is sealed with respect to said inner enclosure against the passage of air from outside said inner enclosure to inside said inner enclosure.

3. A safe for preventing heat, fire, or smoke damage to the contents thereof when said safe is exposed to a fire, said safe comprising an inner enclosure and an outer enclosure, said inner enclosure having top, bottom, front, rear, and side walls spaced from corresponding walls of said outer enclosure so that an insulative gap is defined between said enclosures, said inner enclosure having a door jamb in the front wall thereof,

an inner door in one of the walls of said inner enclosure, a seal between said door and said one wall for preventing the passage of air between said door and door jamb when said door is closed, said inner enclosure being completely sealed against the entrance of air at atmospheric pressure when said door is fully closed,

an outer door in one wall of said outer enclosure,

locking mechanism for securing said outer door in a closed position,

a door closure mechanism operatively attached to said outer door and responsive to detection of a condition present during a rire for moving said outer door to a closed position, and

means for camming said inner door into sealed engagement with said inner door jamb and for locking said inner door in sealed engagement with said inner door jamb when said outer door is closed by said door closure mechanism.

4. The safe of claim 3 wherein said camming means comprises a cam movably mounted upon said door and a cam engageable element lixedly mounted upon said inner enclosure.

5. The safe of claim 4 wherein said cam is operatively connected to a movable door handle mounted upon said inner door, said connection being such that said cam is disengaged from said element when said handle is moved to a position to open said door, said outer door being engageable with said handle to elfect closing and sealing of said inner door when said outer door is closed by said door closure mechanism.

6. The safe of claim 5 wherein said handle is retained in a door open position by a spring while said inner door is closed by engagement of said handle with said outer door, and said handle being subsequently moved to a closed position by said outer door so as to engage said cam with said cam engageable element after said inner door is fully closed.

7. A safe for preventing heat, tire, or smoke damage to the contents thereof when said safe isexposed to a lire, said safe comprising an inner enclosure and an outer enclosure, both of said enclosures having top, bottom, front, rear, and side walls spaced apart from the corresponding walls of the other enclosure so that an insulative gap is dened between said enclosures,

an inner door in one of the walls of the inner safe,

a seal between said inner door and said one wall of said inner enclosure for preventing the passage of air between said door and said one wall and for completely sealing said inner safe against the entrance of air at atmospheric pressure when said door is fully closed,

an outer door in one of the walls of the outer safe,

locking mechanism for securing said outer door in a closed position, and

a door closure mechanism operatively attached to said outer door and responsive to detection of a condition present during a i'lre for moving said outer door to a closed position and for simultaneously moving said inner door to a closed position and to lock said inner door in a condition in which it is sealed with respect to said inner enclosure against the passage of air from outside said inner enclosure to inside said inner enclosure.

8. The safe of claim 7 wherein said door closure mechanism is responsive to detection of excessive heat, smoke or moisture to move said doors to the closed position.

9. The safe of claim 7 wherein said door closure mechanism comprises a power weight operatively connected to said outer door so as to close said outer door when said weight is dropped, a latch for holding said weight in an elevated position until a condition present during a fire is detected, and means responsive to the detection of a tire condition for actuating said latch to release said weight.

10. The safe of claim 7 wherein said door closure mechanism comprises a motor operatively connected to said outer door so as to eect closing of said outer door, means for holding said outer door in an open position, and means for releasing said holding means in response to detection of a condition present during a tire so that said motor may close said outer door.

11. The safe of claim 10` wherein said motor is a fluid operated motor.

12. The safe of claim 10 wherein outer door holding means comprises an electric magnet and said means for releasing said holding means includes an electric circuit which is opened to deenergize said magnet in response to detection of a condition present during a fire.

13. A safe for preventing heat, tire, or smoke damage to the contents thereof when said safe is exposed to a re, said safe comprising an inner enclosure and an outer enclosure, both of said enclosures having top, bottom, front, rear, and side walls spaced apart from the corresponding walls of the other enclosure so that an insulative gap is deined between said enclosures,

a pair of opposed inner doors in one of the walls of the inner safe,

a seal between said inner doors and said one wall of said inner enclosure for preventing the passage of air between said doors and said one wall and for completely sealing said inner safe against the entrance of air at atmospheric pressure when said doors are fully closed,

a pair of opposed outer doors in one of the Walls of the outer safe, each of said outer doors having one vertical edge portion abutting against and intertting with a vertical edge portion of the other of said outer doors,

means on said safe for preventing one of said outer doors from closing before the other so as to insure that said intertting vertical edge portions of said doors are always properly sealed,

locking mechanism for securing said `outer doors in a closed position, and

a door closure mechanism operatively attached to both `of said outer doors and responsive to detection of a condition present during a re for moving said outer doors to a closed position and for simultaneously moving said inner doors to a closed position and for locking said inner door in a condition in which it is sealed with respect to said inner enclosure against the passage of air from outside said inner enclosure to inside said inner enclosure.

14. The safe of claim 13 wherein said door closure mechanism is responsive to detection of excessive heat, smoke or moisture to move said doors to the closed position.

15. The safe of claim 13 wherein said. door closure mechanism comprises a pair of power weights operatively connected to said outer doors so as to close said outer doors when said weights are dropped, a latch for holding said weights in an elevated position until a condition present during a re is detected, and means responsive to the detection of a fire condition for actuating said latch to release said weights.

16. The safe of claim 13 wherein said door closure mechanism comprises at least one motor operatively connected to said outer doors so as to effect closing of said outer doors, means for holding said outer doors in an open position, and means for releasing said holding means in response to detection of a condition present during a fire so that said motor may close said outer doors.

17. The safe of claim 16 wherein said motor is a lluid operated motor.

18. The safe of claim 16 wherein outer door holding means comprises a pair of electric magnets and said means for releasing said holding means includes an electric circuit which is opened to de-energize said magnets in response to detection of a condition present during a re.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS REINALDO P. MACHADO, Prmm'y Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION Patent No. 3,421,461 January 14, 1969 Albert R. St. Clair et al.

It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column ll, line 33, "a door enclosure mechanism" should read a door closure mechanism Signed and sealed this 17th day of March 1970.

(SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. lFletcher, Jr. J

Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

